iMEGA Finds Loophole

11/03/2008		iMEGA Finds Loophole
Home History Games News Dictionary		It seems that the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association may have finally found the needle in the haystack that could be the undoing, and final resting place for Governor Steve Beshear and his tirade against internet gambling sites. The association, known as iMEGA has decided to fight back against the court case on hold in Kentucky. The initial hearing took place November 17th of this year, when the judge decided to push the court action to the 3rd of December, in actuality allowing not only Beshear and his team to strengthen their legal attempt to effectively shut down 141 websites by seizing domain names, but thankfully, has also allowed the opposition and opportunity to find a rebuttal for the conquest. Based out of Washington DC, iMEGA claims that Beshear has no jurisdiction for the effort at final forfeiture at all. They have since petitioned the Appeals Court of Kentucky to intervene, by filing a writ of mandamus that would overrule Judge Wingate’s right to preside over the hearings. Ed Leyden, President for the Association, said for the record, “The forfeiture hearing would have been the death penalty. The damage would have already been done and the harm would have been irreparable. These proceedings should not have gone as far as they did.” iMEGA’s and the internet companies’ claims are based on Beshear’s law team using a defunct law as the basis for their filing. Apparently, the law that permitted Beshear’s efforts to continue uses the phrase “gambling devices” to describe any machine that helps people gamble. The new defense holds that personal computers could not possibly all be surrendered, and domain names are not property, therefore the terminology doesn’t apply. Even if domain names were to be considered property (because the rights can be owned) they are not located in the state of Kentucky, giving the Governor no jurisdiction. The Appeal also mentions that the Commerce clause of the Constitution only permits Congress to regulate commerce with other nations, where most of the domain names are licensed and registered. It appears, if Leyden’s position holds true, Governor Beshear was the one who overstepped his bounds.

11/03/2008

iMEGA Finds Loophole

It seems that the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association may have finally found the needle in the haystack that could be the undoing, and final resting place for Governor Steve Beshear and his tirade against internet gambling sites.

The association, known as iMEGA has decided to fight back against the court case on hold in Kentucky. The initial hearing took place November 17th of this year, when the judge decided to push the court action to the 3rd of December, in actuality allowing not only Beshear and his team to strengthen their legal attempt to effectively shut down 141 websites by seizing domain names, but thankfully, has also allowed the opposition and opportunity to find a rebuttal for the conquest.
Based out of Washington DC, iMEGA claims that Beshear has no jurisdiction for the effort at final forfeiture at all. They have since petitioned the Appeals Court of Kentucky to intervene, by filing a writ of mandamus that would overrule Judge Wingate’s right to preside over the hearings. Ed Leyden, President for the Association, said for the record, “The forfeiture hearing would have been the death penalty. The damage would have already been done and the harm would have been irreparable. These proceedings should not have gone as far as they did.”

iMEGA’s and the internet companies’ claims are based on Beshear’s law team using a defunct law as the basis for their filing. Apparently, the law that permitted Beshear’s efforts to continue uses the phrase “gambling devices” to describe any machine that helps people gamble. The new defense holds that personal computers could not possibly all be surrendered, and domain names are not property, therefore the terminology doesn’t apply. Even if domain names were to be considered property (because the rights can be owned) they are not located in the state of Kentucky, giving the Governor no jurisdiction. The Appeal also mentions that the Commerce clause of the Constitution only permits Congress to regulate commerce with other nations, where most of the domain names are licensed and registered. It appears, if Leyden’s position holds true, Governor Beshear was the one who overstepped his bounds.